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Hanzō
, also known as , was a legendary ninja who was also the former leader of Amegakure. Background At some point during Hanzō's childhood, a black salamander died in his village. Following its death, its poison sac was implanted into him in the hopes of creating a venomous ninja who himself was immune to toxins. This required him to wear a mask constantly, in order to protect others from his venom-laced breath.Naruto chapter 532, page 3-4 Sometime in his past Hanzō fought Mifune, whom he defeated in battle but whose life he spared, due to the samurai's strength and faith. He went as far as giving him the antidote to his poison, and then left. Despite claiming to think he had killed him,Naruto chapter 531, page 13 in the depths of his heart, Hanzō knew Mifune was still alive. During the Second Shinobi World War, Hanzō fought some of Konoha's forces, with Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru being the only ones to survive. As a reward to them for this accomplishment, he named them Konoha's Sannin and told them to refer to themselves as such in exchange for letting them live. Years later during the Third Shinobi World War, when a group of ninja began a quest to end war through unorthodox means within his country, Hanzō viewed them as a threat to his power and sought to get rid of them. He teamed up with Konoha's Root organisation to kill the group's leader, Yahiko. He lured Yahiko to a meeting where he forced Nagato, Yahiko's team-mate, to kill Yahiko in exchange for Konan's life. However, Yahiko committed suicide by impaling himself upon Nagato's kunai to spare his friend the anguish and burden of killing him himself. Nagato slaughtered Hanzō's forces in retribution along with the shinobi of Root who had come to aid Hanzō. After a brief skirmish with Nagato, Hanzō fled the scene realising that he could not deal with Nagato when he was so enraged and thus escaped. Nagato, under the alias of "Pain", would later begin a civil war within Amegakure. According to the stories, he single-handedly killed Hanzō, his family, and his retainers, and then conducted a systematic genocide of anybody even remotely associated with Hanzō, even to the extent of terminating the ambassadors of the villages Hanzō was associated with. Personality Hanzō was a very security-conscious individual, trusting no one. He was guarded twenty-four seven, and did not allow anyone in his presence, even children, without being thoroughly searched. He cared greatly on his position as village leader, and dealt with threats harshly. This obsession with security deluded Hanzō into thinking of preserving the great skills he has amassed, when instead it caused it to deteriorate due to lack of practice. Although he viewed the Five Great Countries as his enemies, he was still willing to ally with foreign nations, even those who had caused him great harm, in order to remain in power. He was also willing to betray people without remorse, leading the Ame Orphans and their team into a trap, then attempting to have them all mercilessly killed; this betrayal, ironically, led to his own demise. A long time ago during his youth, Hanzō had once sought the ideals of "peace" and even attempted to achieve this belief through the unification of the Five Great Countries. However, after realising that such a method would only bring about perpetual war and thus, leave only death in its wake, he cast aside this conviction. Afterwards Hanzō became devoted solely to the preservation of the power he had previously amassed, growing arrogant of his own martial skills in the process and leaving him unaware that they had instead dulled considerably, due in part to the lack of refinement brought about through practice. Even by the time of his death, Hanzō still couldn't comprehend how someone he had once defeated, could have grown more powerful than himself.Naruto chapter 531, pages 11-20 A distinctive trait of Hanzō, however, was his belief in the faith of people: he believed that a strong faith would have survived the death of its owner, living on; faith, according to him, wasn't visible to the eyes, but could only be perceived through a fight. He had great respect for the ones with a strong faith, as seen when he spared the lives of many strong-willed opponents he defeated, demanding their names in order to call them heroes in spite of their defeat. He claimed his faith lied in his will to bring peace to the world, which, despite his harsh words and his attitude in later stages of his life, seemed to have lived on, as seen when, before releasing a poisonous cloud from his venom sac and losing his free will to Kabuto's Impure World Resurrection, he entrusted his faith to Mifune. Appearance Hanzō was a rather muscular man of average height, with long blond hair reaching down to his back and a prominent scar on his right cheek. In the manga, he had unusual eyes that displayed black sclera and white irises, similar to Kakuzu's. In the anime, his eyes were portrayed with a normal brown colouration. On the left-side of his abdomen, he bore a distinctive cross-shaped scar received from implanting a salamander's venom sac within his body. He had a dark hat on his head and his lower face was mostly obscured by a helmet-like respirator, which he used to keep his own poison at bay and that differed from the ones worn by other Amegakure shinobi, as it was notably larger and featured two filter cartridges instead of the typical one. The upper portion of this mask bore the symbol of his village and was mirrored by four indentations on the part covering his mouth. His typical attire consisted of a loose wetsuit-like outfit typical of his village, accented by bandages wrapped around his wrists and lower legs, a flak jacket, standard shinobi sandals and a dark cloak that reached down below his waist. Underneath this wetsuit, he donned a dark short sleeved shirt which exposed just his lower abdomen, much like the one worn by Sai. In his youth, his hair was significantly shorter and he wore a respirator with only a single cartridge instead of two. During his fight with Mifune in the past, Hanzō was shown bare-chested, wearing only the lower section of his wetsuit-like clothing, complemented by a pair of dark gloves covering his hands. Abilities Hanzō was easily recognised as one of the strongest ninja of his time, and an icon to the whole shinobi world, because of his skills. His power was such that Jiraiya expressed intense shock upon hearing that he had been defeated single-handedly by Pain. Hanzō's speed was said to be unsurpassed in water. True to his moniker, Hanzō could use Fire Release, and, during his attempt to kill Nagato, he demonstrated impressive skill for trap-oriented techniques, as he not only anticipated Nagato attacking him but had also appropriately placed a series of exploding tags in preparation for such an eventuality. Poison As a child, Hanzō implanted the venom sac from a black salamander, which resided within his village, into his own body upon its death, leaving an identifiable scar on the left-side of his abdomen. This procedure conferred to him the poison-related abilities of the creature, amongst which were an enhanced resistance to poison and the alteration of his body chemistry so that he too became toxic, so much so that even his breath would intoxicate those in the immediate vicinity. This poison was deadly, causing victims to experience excruciating pain until they succumbed to numbness, where these effects would then progress to complete paralysis and ultimately death within a period of two days from inhalation. To preserve the safety of others, Hanzō always breathed using a respirator and carried a small vial of antidote about his person, although even immediate ingestion of this did not guarantee survival. The fear that this very implantation produced, earned him the epithet of "Hanzō of the Salamander". Fighting without his mask granted Hanzō a great advantage over his enemies, but also bore a considerable risk for himself. If the venom sac were ever ruptured after receiving a direct wound, the resultant poisonous cloud released as the toxin vaporised would immobilise him for several seconds, presenting a significant opening for his foe in spite of the venom still remaining non-fatal to Hanzō. The mask completely alleviated this risk and so he resolved to remove it only when pitted against weaker enemies that he could defeat without consequence, while keeping it on when in the presence of stronger opponents who could have exploited such a weakness. Kusarigamajutsu Since his youth, Hanzō has wielded a kusarigama with great skill, being able to match and even surpass various dangerous opponents seemingly through the use of just this weapon alone, including the likes of the now reputed Mifune. Unusually, he tended to deliver brutal strikes by swinging the sickle with the chain, rather than simply employing the weighted end, which is generally considered to be the most effective manner. The weapon's blade was coated in Hanzō's deadly poison, making a single blow enough to successfully dispatch enemies. Due to Hanzō's growing preoccupation with the preservation of his own security, when he was nearing the latter stages of his life, his skills with the weapon had dulled considerably. Summoning Technique Hanzō was shown to be particularly skilled in the Summoning Technique and living up to his salamander theme, his signature creature was the massive salamander Ibuse, who was large enough for his master to ride on its head. Just like his master, Ibuse is a poisonous salamander and is thus capable, if given the right amount of time, of storing inside its body a large amount of poisonous gas, which can be subsequently exhaled from its mouth at Hanzō's command. This poison is strong enough to almost completely paralyse opponents just mere seconds after inhalation, leaving them entirely at its master's mercy. Ibuse was also proficient at tunnelling through the ground in order to travel underneath the earth, avoid attacks and then resurface right under an enemy to swallow them, letting them die due to the toxins stored within its body. When battling alongside this trademark creature, Hanzō was strong enough to fight and eventually overpower all three Sannin in their youth. Part II Shinobi World War Arc Hanzō is resurrected by Kabuto, along with various other famous shinobi through the Summoning: Impure World Resurrection, to prepare for war against the Allied Shinobi Forces.Naruto chapter 515, pages 18-19 He is part of the group that Chūkichi requests assistance from, alongside Chiyo and Kimimaro.Naruto chapter 521, page 5 Hanzō later encounters Kankurō and the remnants of the Surprise Attack Division with his improvised team, where he chastises Deidara for being caught and remarks that he would have no intention of freeing him if it weren't for the accursed technique that governs his actions.Naruto chapter 526, pages 13-14 As the opposition retreats, Hanzō concentrates on their pursuit, once the enemies were within range he summons his salamander and commands it to release a Poison Mist. Moving in for the fatal blow, Hanzō is intercepted by Mifune, who expresses a desire to fight him.Naruto chapter 530, pages 14-17 Conversing between themselves as the two engage in a brief but fierce duel, Hanzō attempts to maintain his distance with his kusarigama, while questioning his opponent's devotion. After ordering Ibuse to take refuge underground, Hanzō commends Mifune for avoiding his attacks, before recounting how he cast aside his ideals of "peace". Mifune refutes these claims as he prevents Hanzō from using hand seals through Iaidō, which causes Hanzō to not only recollect his past but also counter, resulting in Mifune almost suffocating in the poisonous mouth of Ibuse after obeying his master's command and swallowing the samurai whole. Slashing through the salamander's head while Hanzō moved in for a final blow, in a complete reversal of their first battle, Mifune cuts the blade of Hanzō's kusarigama in half and slashes through his body breaking his respirator in the process, stating that the loss of his conviction had dulled his skills.Naruto chapter 531 After Hanzō reminiscences about his past battle with Mifune, where he divulged the details surrounding his infamous reputation and eventually spared the defeated samurai due to his strong devotion towards his allies, he then explains that the weakness he described in the past still remains despite his immortality. In a tremendous demonstration of will, Hanzō places his faith in Mifune and overcoming the talisman that governs him, he commits with his broken kusarigama. Piercing the internal venom gland located within his body in the process, an enormous poisonous cloud is released that paralyses the entirety of Hanzō's movements, creating an opening for the Fifth Division to exploit in order to seal him away for the remainder of the war.Naruto chapter 532 Trivia * According to the third Naruto Databook: ** His favourite phrase was: "Security is the greatest enemy". * Hanzō may have been named after a famous real-life samurai and widely believed ninja . This is further accentuated by his connections with samurai of the Naruto universe and his final act of suicide, typical of real-life samurai. ** It is popular Japanese legend that Hattori Hanzō was killed by Fūma Kotarō. Pain's first Animal Path was said to be from the Fūma clan. ** He may also be named after the Japanese giant salamander. This species is also called the , which shares the first kanji with Hanzō's name. * Hanzō's nickname and his element affinity have significant meaning because in ancient mythology, although being amphibious, the salamander was considered the living symbol of fire and as such was completely fireproof and able to live in fire itself. Quotes * (To Mifune) "One last thing. People's lives '''don't' end when they die. It ends when they lose their faith." * (To Mifune) "''Will it be death while still holding strong to faith, or a long life gained by renouncing it?" * (To Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade) "You three are powerful… only you have survived. I, Hanzō, hereby dub you the 'Sannin of the Leaf.' Refer to yourselves as such in return for having your lives spared." * (To Mifune) "Once, I also sought 'peace.' I thought I could unite the Five Great Shinobi Countries' Ninja World into one. I quickly realised that couldn't happen." * (Decrying the occupation of the samurai) "A lot of samurai changed jobs to ninja. Samurai schools also changed to teach the ninja arts. The role of the samurai has already ended. Without any convictions towards peace, financed and grown out of money, they use strong ninjutsu. Ninja have taken and changed your role. But if those ninja can be weeded out and were to die, then nothing would be left. Just like me." * (To Mifune) "Mifune… I'm placing my faith in you!" References